A late-night Uber ride has sparked a broader conversation about how passengers should respond when an ordinary trip suddenly feels unsafe.
In a TikTok video, a woman said her Uber driver asked to pull into a parking garage for 15 to 20 minutes so he could charge his electric vehicle. She said the incident occurred at about 3 a.m.
According to her account, the vehicle still had a 43% charge, while she was roughly 25 minutes from home.
Her uneasiness intensified when the driver reportedly missed an exit. That prompted her to ask where they were going.
“I don’t want to get into a random parking lot with you,” the woman told the driver in the video. “You also just missed the exit.”
Fox News Digital contacted the woman who shared the TikTok seeking additional information.
The woman said she eventually ended the ride and called police.
Uber said it reviewed the incident and took action.
“Everyone deserves to feel safe and comfortable when using the Uber platform,” an Uber spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
“We have investigated this report and taken appropriate action.”
The company also highlighted several safety tools in its app, including an emergency button, GPS trip tracking and an option to share ride details with trusted contacts.
The episode has renewed attention on the steps rideshare passengers can take when something during a trip does not feel right.
Dillon Abend, a recent college graduate and the New Jersey-based founder and CEO of rideshare safety app 3rd-i, told Fox News Digital that an unexpected route change can be especially alarming for someone traveling alone overnight.
“Your heart just drops,” Abend said.
SEE ALSO: Hayride Carrying Children Overturns, Leaving Multiple People Critically Injured
He said hundreds of college students have shared accounts with him about rideshare experiences that made them feel uncomfortable.
Once passengers become uneasy, however, reaching out for assistance may not feel simple or safe.
“Almost everyone’s reasoning in this situation is, ‘I didn’t want the driver three feet away to hear me call the police and have them act,’” Abend said.
Abend said technology can give riders more options for staying connected and requesting help during a trip.
“Ideally, you want to share your location with people,” he said. “Let a core group of three to five people know where you’re going and the details of it.”
He also advised passengers to verify the license plate before entering a vehicle and make sure the driver and car match the information shown in the rideshare app.
New Jersey-based Seymour Josephson, co-president of the What’s My Name Foundation, has been working with Uber and Lyft since July 2020 to promote rideshare safety on college campuses.
He and his wife, Marci Josephson, established the foundation after their 21-year-old daughter, Samantha, was killed on March 29, 2019, when she mistakenly entered a vehicle she thought was the Uber she had hailed.
The What’s My Name Foundation encourages passengers to follow four steps before entering a ride-hailed vehicle: stop, ask, match and inform — known as the “SAMI” steps.
People should stop before they enter the vehicle, ask the driver, “What’s my name?” and match the vehicle’s license plate with the information provided in the app.
Fox News Digital reached out to Lyft for comment and details.
“We want to make sure that we’re not just getting into a car, but we’re getting into the right car, the right Uber,” Josephson said.
Seymour Josephson said he is not looking to discourage people from using rideshare services, but to make the experience safer for everyone — both rider and driver.
“We also helped bring forward the four-digit PIN with Uber and now Lyft,” Seymour Josephson said.
“All it is,” he continued, “is a two-step authentication. And it’s securing that it is your ride by giving that pin to the driver before you get in.
